


cultivating softness

by maddy_does (favefangirl)



Series: Marvel Fluff Bingo 2021 [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (Subjective), Birthday Fluff, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Pre-Spider-Man: Far From Home Mid-Credits Scene, soft under the hard exterior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29712867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/favefangirl/pseuds/maddy_does
Summary: Peter doesn't mind that everyone thinks MJ is mean and scary - he knows who she is.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Series: Marvel Fluff Bingo 2021 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2183655
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60
Collections: Marvel Fluff Bingo





	cultivating softness

**Author's Note:**

> [Read on Tumblr :)](https://maddy-does.tumblr.com/post/644198127278194688/cultivating-softness)  
> Pairing: Peter Parker/MJ  
> Warnings: canon compliant / pre-Far From Home mid-credits scene  
> Word Count: 1498  
> Square Filled: Soft under the hard exterior

Ned still looks confused, and Peter is out of ways to explain it. He’s been trying for the best part of half an hour, partly concentrating on the Lego piece they’re trying to build, party trying to make Ned understand what is a perfectly simple concept. He and MJ are dating. Properly, like feelings and everything, dating. Ned keeps tilting his head to the side like a Labrador every time Peter says it, and more than once he’d thought he’d slipped into Spanish or something.

“But, she’s so mean!” Ned insists, flicking his eyes between the instructions and the model before _carefully_ placing the next piece down. “I didn’t realise you guys even actually liked each other.”

“MJ isn’t _mean_ ,” Peter denies, defensive.

The look Ned gives him is less confusion and more disbelief. “Her art portfolio last semester was all about depressed people!”

“People in crisis,” Peter counters, the rebuttal almost instantaneous. “And she got an A on that project.”

“She made Mrs Horten cry last week,” Ned goes on, pointing at him with raised eyebrows. 

“Mrs Hoten is always emotional,” Peter replies with a shrug. “Pregnancy hormones.”

Ned hums, and Peter pretends he’s focusing on putting the next brick onto the Lego sculpture, but he’s mostly waiting for Ned to say the next harsh-but-valid thing. Objectively, Peter knows MJ can be … intense. It’s kind of why he likes her. Or, part of it at least. She’s steadfast in her own identity, and sometimes that can come off as a little boorish, but she’s principled. _Well-behaved women seldom make history_ , is a favourite of MJs quotes, and pretty much her only defence. Peter is her boyfriend, he has to defend her to others.

“Your name in her phone is ‘less cool Thimotee Chalamet’,” Ned finally says, putting a brick of his own onto the Lego.

“I mean, I _am_ less cool,” Peter responds, a little sadly.

“Dude, you’re S _piderman_!” Peter just shrugs, but he’s quietly pleased.

Peter doesn’t really mind that others think MJ is mean, mainly because she can be (he’s got to defend her, but he’s sensible to her defects), and also because she doesn’t seem to. She’s of the opinion that people are always going to think what they want about her, so she might as well let them. Peter wishes he could take that kind of mentality, but he kinda likes validation, actually, especially since he can’t get any thanks for what he’s done for everyone as Spiderman. It’s a nice thought, though.

He and MJ aren’t exactly typical in their relationship. She still teases him relentlessly, making fun of his excuses when he has to run off on a mission, or pointing out wrong answers on his homework in the least compassionate way she can manage, or laughing when he makes a fool of himself. He’s still at least a little afraid of her, though more and more he’s thinking maybe it’s actually reverence. He hasn’t really thought about it long enough to decide. But either way, he’s not entirely surprised Ned is so shocked that they’re dating. It’s hard to marry MJ to the image of any kind of doting girlfriend.

For his birthday, Peter finds a cartoon comic strip attached to his locker. It depicts a guy with his underwear on over his jeans and a wrestling mask fighting another guy made of wires, but being electrocuted by the final panel. The caption reads, _too much for Arachnid-Man!_ It’s slightly morbid, and undeniably at his own expense, but he’s careful not to crinkle the paper as he puts it in a folder for later. He’ll cherish it forever.

It’s no less than he expects from her, honestly. In his own opinion, it’s kind of perfect, even if Ned looks horrified when Peter shows it to him that afternoon. He’s hanging out at MJs in the evening, which probably means ordering a pizza and doing homework together in her bedroom (with the door wide open, Mr Jones is very explicit about that). Peter doesn’t mind. He, May and Ned have cake when he gets back from school, and even Happy stops by to drop off a present for him - an AC/DC CD, as though anyone even still listens to those, but he's grateful nonetheless. He’s happy to be spending his birthday with MJ at all.

He gets to hers five minutes late because Ned didn’t want to leave him, not trusting MJ after the picture, and the fact that his last girlfriend’s dad actually _did_ turn out to be a supervillain. Peter reassured him with the fact that, really, what were the odds of that happening twice? He knocks on the door as nervous as he always is before seeing MJ, especially when her dad will be around, and bounces a little on his feet as he waits for someone to open the door. When they do, his breath catches.

Peter has seen MJ in a dress before, in Prague, and he’s seen the prom photos, though he’d been far too concerned with saving the world to really appreciate her on the night. He’s not expecting it now, however, so it catches him off-guard. She has half of her hair pinned back, just like Prague, and there’s a gleam on her lips which makes Peter think she’s wearing lip gloss. The dress, though, is really something else. Cut just above her knees, with the sleeves off the shoulder, and a sweet pale blue colour that sits prettily against her complexion. She’s beautiful.

“You look…” Peter can’t even find the words. “Wow.” He quickly adds, “Not that I’m reducing your worth to the way you look, obviously.”

She blushes but grins. “Obviously.”

“Obviously,” a deep voice repeats from inside the apartment. MJ’s dad pokes his head out to look Peter up and down with a cold stare. Peter is convinced he’s where MJ learned it from. “Parker,” he greets.

“Mr Jones,” Peter replies with a gulp, eyes wide.

“Dad,” MJ protests, turning to glare. He just purses his lips with a ‘hm’, but disappears back into the apartment nonetheless. “Come in,” MJ finally says, stepping aside so Peter can enter. As he walks past, he catches scent of her perfume, a surprisingly dainty, floral smell that Peter immediately likes. He stops suddenly when he catches sight of the kitchen table. “I know it’s not much,” MJ says as she appears at his side having closed the door behind him, “But for your birthday I wanted to…” she trails off, probably seeing that Peter is too transfixed by what’s before him anyway.

On the table is a spread of rose petals, and an LED candelabra in the centre. There are two steaming bows of some kind of pasta dish at two place settings, with mismatched knives and forks laid out like a fancy restaurant. Off to the side is a cake, which leans a little to the left, and the ‘happy birthday’ message written across the top of it is barely legible, but it’s still amazing. Peter takes an aborted step towards it then turns to MJ.

“You did all this?” he asks, awestruck.

She shrugs, and the red of her cheeks only seems to deepen. “My mom helped,” she admits flippantly.

Peter looks back at the meal. “This is amazing! You didn’t have to do all this!”

MJ cringes. “I know I’m not, like, a _normal_ girlfriend, but I wanted to show you how much I… care about... you.” She brings a hand up to touch the broken black dahlia around her throat - she hasn't taken it off since London. 

“MJ,” Peter says softly, taking her other hand gently in his. “You’re perfect.”

She flicks her eyes up to him, and a bashful smile spreads across her lips. Without thinking, he leans forward to kiss her because he wants to (he always wants to, but never so much as this), but he's stopped just short of her lips by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Slowly, he turns to the doorway where MJ’s dad is leaning an arm against the top of the doorframe, a single eyebrow arched as he watches them.

“Mouths are for eating,” he says, pointing at the plates.

“Yeah,” Peter quickly agrees, taking a large step away from MJ and ruefully letting go of her hand. “Sorry, sir.”

MJ’s dad nods with an exhale through his nose, before retreating back out of the kitchen. Still, Peter feels his eyes on him. “You fought Thanos, but you’re scared of my dad?” MJ teases, smiling so wide the sides of her eyes crease up.

Peter frowns at her. “Mouths are for eating, MJ,” he teases back.

She laughs loud, and bright, and beautiful, and Peter feels his own lips turning up into a grin in response. They sit down to eat, and Peter can’t help the slow spread of satisfaction he feels at being able to prove to Ned just how much MJ isn’t mean after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> i've never written for this pairing before, but they're one of the few decent canon MCU pairings, so.
> 
> anyway, if you wanna leave a comment or a kudos they're much appreciated! especially let me know if there's something you think i forgot to tag! 
> 
> i'm taking prompts! if you're interested please drop the prompt in the comments below. if you do send a prompt be prepared for me to take fifty years to fill it because uni is so hard, but i promise i'll try! come say hi on tumblr: [@maddy-does](https://maddy-does.tumblr.com/)
> 
> thanks for reading, have a wonderful existence.


End file.
